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Class-action lawsuits could cost Toyota $3B-plus

First the recalls, now the lawsuits.

At least 89 class-action suits have been filed by Toyota owners who claim that massive safety recalls are causing the value of their vehicles to plummet. The suits could cost the automaker $3 billion or more.

The figures don't include potential payouts for wrongful death and injury lawsuits, which could reach in the tens of millions each.

One law professor says class-action suits "are more scary for Toyota" than injury cases. Tom Baker of the University of Pennsylvania says, "A super-big injury case would be $20 million." But he says there could be millions of individual car owners who could be owed $1,000 each.